Purpose: This Halloween keyboarding activity is intended to promote creativity and collaboration by encouraging students to write a short Halloween story. This activity not only strengthens student’s typing skills but also emphasizes the importance of effective communication and coordination, essential skills for both academic and real-world contexts.
Procedure:
1. Provide students with one Halloween Writing Prompt.
2. Give students 5 minutes to type the beginning of their own story.
3. After the timer ends, direct students to exchange seats with a peer and give them 5 additional minutes to add to their peer’s story.
Exchange seats as many times as desired with a new student each round.
A minimum of 3 rounds is needed.
Note: Consider cutting the writing prompts into small strips and have students choose their own prompt from a Halloween bucket.
4. To end the activity, have students return to their original seats. Give the students 10 final minutes to read the chaos their classmates have created and type a conclusion that brings the story all together.
5. Have a few students read their finished stories out loud with the class. Give students who share their stories a small Halloween treat.
Materials Needed:
A timer and precut writing prompts for the students to choose from. (Small treats as desired.)
KeyMaster Variation: For an added challenge, use the KeyMaster Learning Lights Keyboard to blank out learner's keys to eliminate selective letter choices. Students will need to brainstorm new words, with variable letters, to contribute to their story.
Additional Variations: Students can be encouraged to come up with their own spooky writing prompts or they can write a prompt for their peers.
To discourage disruptive behavior and potentially inappropriate writing, have students type their first and last name next to their story contribution.
Time Required: Teacher’s discretion (Minimum 30 minutes)
**Adapted From: “Spooky Story Scramble” by Bridget McConnell.